Twelve Steps
by CloverKitten06
Summary: AU:Rodric Gold is addicted to power in the form of heroin. Belle learns she is pregnant, and can't allow his habits to affect their child so she divorces him. Flash Forward five years:Belle is going by her maiden name, and is the mother of four year old, Natalie Rose. A two years sober Rodric comes back into down. Can he earn his family back? Or will his demons catch up? RB, CS, OQ


**Author's Note: Hey, y'all! I'm getting back into writing full blown fics again! Some of you may remember my fic "Running From Devils". I'm hoping to add on to my other stories as soon as I can while publishing new works. Don't forget to R/R**

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><p>Belle Gold rushed into her home smiling brightly. "Rodric! Rodric are you home?"<p>

There was no answer from her husband. She searched all over the house and couldn't find him. The smile never left her face, though. He worked late all the time. She couldn't believe the news she got, and she had to tell him in person.

Belle continued wandering her house in a happy daze. Things had been going so wonderfully. It was like they were newly married again. She turned to the bookcase that held their wedding album. She plucked the book from the shelf and started to flip through it. Right as she was about to get to her favorite picture of her and her husband, a small clear baggy filled with white powder fell to the ground.

She looked at it, and her jaw went slack. Slowly she bent down and picked it up, turning it all around and studying it. Belle closed her fist over it and clenched her jaw tightly, trying to hold back tears as she began to shake.

He promised. He told her he was through with the heroin, that he would be better for her. That he would be the man she deserved.

Belle looked down and her hand rested on her belly. This was it. No more. She refused.

Rodric watched his wife while they had dinner. Over the past three weeks she had been unusually distant. At first he attributed it to the stomach bug she picked up, but then he saw a manila folder resting on the coffee table. He cleared his throat and put his napkin down on the table.

"Belle, is there something wrong?"

Belle looked up at him before looking back down at her food and shrugging. "I don't know what you mean, Rodric," she said.

He drummed his fingers on the table and sighed through his nose. "I think you do. Come on, Belle. Please tell me."

Her fingers twitched a moment before she slowly got up and went to the manila folder. She picked it up and walked back to him, setting it down beside his plate and returning to her spot.

A feeling of dread built in Gold's chest as he slid the papers free. Divorce Decree was typed out in big bold letters at the top of the first page. He continued flipping through the pages, but nothing was really registering in his mind at the moment. Divorce… She was leaving him…

"I had a lawyer draw these up. All the property you own in Boston is yours to keep. But I want the house, library, and pawnshop here in Storybrooke," Belle said. It hurt to watch him go through the papers, but she had no other choice. There was no way she could let him stay while he was clearly not going to change his ways.

"What are you saying, Belle?"

"I found your stash, Rodric. The heroin you kept in our wedding album."

Rodric's face went pale. "Belle I can—"

"Leave, Rodric. Just go."

He couldn't believe this was happening. Rodric's brain couldn't even begin to comprehend what she was saying. "I need you."

Belle let out a breath and shook her head. "You need your drugs more. And I'm tired of coming in second... So please... Sign the papers, and go."

"Something must have happened other than the drugs. We can work this out. I can change, I swear it, Belle. Please don't—"

Belle slammed her hand on the table causing Rodric to flinch and go quiet. "You've made me empty promises before, Rodric. You haven't changed. And you never will. It's always the power you think that stuff gives you. It's the feeling of being high that you really love. Not me. I used to be able to see the man underneath the addict, but now there's only the addict. So just leave. Leave Storybrooke."

Rodric was struggling to breathe and tears were flowing down his face. "I…I can't do this without you, Belle. Please…I'll go to rehab. I'll do whatever you want me to. Just don't make me leave."

She shook her head. "This can't be about me. You have to change for you. I've already made up my mind. Sign the papers."

He took another deep breath and clenched his jaw. "You can't kick me out. It's my house."

"It's in our name. Just like the library. Just like the pawnshop. Just like the properties in Boston," Belle said, laughing a little ruefully. "You said I had the right to everything you have in this world. Well I only want the Storybrooke properties. I can take care of myself from there."

Rodric's eyes went wide and he went back over the papers. Why did he keep underestimating her? She never stopped amazing him. Not since the day she rolled into town needing a job and a place to stay. He sat back in his seat and closed his eyes. "I can't change your mind."

"No. It has to be this way… If… If you could really change it would be different, but…" Belle sighed quietly. "This has to be the way it is, Rodric." She went silent for a moment before tears came down her face as well. "I don't want to do this. Please understand that, but I can't let you keep bringing drugs into my home and leaving me alone while you go on a bender. I need you here, but you can't be in two places at once."

Rodric looked at Belle. Her face was red with pain and grief, her shoulders were shaking, and her small, delicate hands were balled into fists. And it was all his fault. He did that to her. The weight of how he hurt her so badly hit him for the first time in three years. He slowly got up and went to the junk drawer. Rodric came back with a pen and sat down before he started to sign in all the indicated places, reading over the papers as he did. "No alimony?"

"I don't need it," Belle said. "I got everything I wanted. All the other assets are yours."

Rodric nodded slowly and signed the last page. "I'll, uh. I'll take these to the courts. Thirty days and it'll be official."

Belle nodded and watched him get up again to pack his stuff. She got up and cleaned dishes to give herself something to do so she could ignore the pain tearing her chest apart. It had to be done. That's what she kept telling herself. It had to be done.

Rodric came back down with two suitcases in his hands and a bag slung over his shoulder. He kept his focus on the door, but he couldn't leave just yet. "I'm sorry, Belle. I really am. I just—I thought I could be better for you."

She looked at him and went over to him. She touched his face and kissed his lips softly. "I love you, Rodric," Belle whispered. "I'm sorry too, but this has to be done."

"I love you too, Belle," Rodric whispered back. He closed his eyes, took another deep breath, and turned to walk out of his door. He put his stuff in the trunk of the car, which Belle also let him keep, and got in.

Belle shut the door, put her back to it and slid down. She didn't start crying again until she heard his car pull away. Her arms stayed wrapped around her belly and she looked down. "I'm sorry, baby. I'm so sorry."

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><p><strong>More to come! Hope y'all enjoyed it!<strong>


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